Are existing citations better than new ones?

Was wondering what people thought on this, does it make a difference if a business has a lot of citations before a places or G+ page is created, or is creating citations after the page is created just as good?

Obviously it will take some time to index all of the citaitions, but assuming all things are equal do you think G likes to see mentions of the business before the page is created?

Re: Are existing citations better than new ones?

Is this a brand new business that has yet to be listed?

From my experience, which is clients that are already listed on a few citation sites, I have learned to focus less on the amount of citation sites they are on and more on making sure the data provided is consistent across the Internet.

IF I do get lucky and we land a client that completely lacks an online presence then I think I would start with Google first in hopes of avoiding G creating a listing herself after she sees that there is a new listing out there.

Re: Are existing citations better than new ones?

This doesn't really apply to a SMB type situation, just sort of a hypothetical I was wondering about. i.e if all citations were done properly and aged for 6 months to a year would the listing move up the rankings faster. You made a very good point about the danger of a scraped listing being created however.

Re: Are existing citations better than new ones?

Gotcha!

From my understanding those citations help Google to know that you are who you say you are and the chances of appearing higher in the results increase. But I have seen listings with very little citation action rank at the top of the 7-pack

Re: Are existing citations better than new ones?

Hmmm - Very good question!

I have heard that it is better to have built citations before setting up the G+ Local page, however, it's a tricky one. Like already said, it's good to get that listing claimed early as it takes time to build up trust. I personally claim it and make sure that the information is correct (where it is) before building lots more.